I want to be like Rocky!

The inside of your typical mid ranged hotel room sets the only setting needed. No balcony, no giant tub, or multiple rooms. Just your single queen-sized pillow top mattress, side table, chair, and other basic furniture. The TV is off, and the morning sun is slowly starting to creep in the one large window in the room casting a hard contrast to the brightening shadow casted room. On the dresser across from the bed sits the TV, but more importantly the Action Wrestling World Cup. Alister sits on the edge of the bed looking down at the borderline overused carpet. As almost a pivotal scene in a drama, he remains motionless creating a perfect image as the sun slowly lights up the room. After what seems like forever, he looks up at the World Cup trophy, pausing for a few moments before standing up.

The hotel blanket falls from around his shoulders as he stands in the middle of his room wearing only shorts. He scratches his chest and lets out a yawn. He walks over to the coffee maker and begins to start his morning routine, occasionally looking at the trophy. After a shower, he enters the room in jeans, heading to his suitcase. He pulls out an XL “Hot Girl Shit Jill Park shirt” and puts it on, before making himself a cup of coffee. Alister leans against the wall of his hotel room, takes a deep breath, inhaling the coffee vapors, and takes the first sip of morning coffee. He leans his head back and exhales just as the silence is broken in blaring fashion.



Alister’s eyes shoot wide open as he pushes himself off the wall and walks over to the end table where his cellphone is plugged in charging.

Ay Jade…. Is it really that time? I’m so sorry, let me get on the computer… Ok thanks!

He hangs up the phone and takes another sip of coffee as he walks over to the small table/work desk they have in the room. Opening his computer, he opens a link to a Zoom meeting. On the screen Jade Riley sits in an Action Wrestling themed room.

Sorry fur bein' late, this fur social media?

Yeah this will be our first look at the newly crowned World Cup winner. If you’re ready, we can get started.

Alister nods as he takes another sip of his coffee.

I’m Jade Riley and I’m here with Alister McKissick, the winner of the World Cup II, where we sit one on one to give the answers the internet’s been asking. So first, ‘Who is Alister McKissick?’

A'm juist that braw jimmy fae loch oich. I kid, just a gent from Scotland that found himself working for Action Wrestling at the best possible time in my career. As short as it’s been, I still feel I have done well for myself so far. He reaches over and grabs the trophy to show it on camera with a big smile over his face. After a moment of mini celebration, he returns it to the dresser it was sitting on. Being put in the match was a surprise to me, they never mentioned it during the contract negotiations. None the less Mr. Pasternak called me up and told me to get my gear packed to show up last week, and we all saw how it ended.

There was a lot of talk after that match, all three of you were debuting that night, there must have been a lot of pressure to have the added pressure of the World Cup being on the line.

He smiles with an awkward chuckle as he looks to his left at the trophy again. He raises his coffee cup back to his lips and takes another sip before returning his attention to Jade.

There’s always pressure in matches, anyone who tells you they are great before a match is lying. Sure, the Cup added to the match, but it was more excitement than anything else. Just like this week, another triple threat with again, a big opportunity attached to it. I was a bit surprised when I got word of this weeks match up.

Jade looks down at her desk as if she is looking for a note to reference.

Yes, you verses Tony Savage verses Odin Balfore where the winner becomes the #1 contender for Jill Park’s AW US Championship. Which is funny that you’re wearing one of her shirts, are you a fan?

Who’s not, she’s great, double champ. But that’s a possible future, if there was ever a week to be focused on what I have to get done, its this week. I’m 100% confident in my abilities and the fact that I am ready for this week, but not going to lie; this week’s aff tae sook. Either one of these two would be a problem for anyone they face, but I have the pleasure of facing them both at the same time. The one good thing about living out of hotels for the time, I have the trophy around to remind me that I am pretty good in the ring.

That was going to be my next question, how do you feel about facing these two men?

Alister slowly brings his coffee up one last time, looking down inside the cup he pauses for a moment before exhaling just loud enough to be vocal, but just barely. He downs the remainder of what’s left in the cup, slowly bringing it away from his lips, setting it aside out of camera view.

I know on paper I have na chance in hell to win this, me being so young to all this. I know about as much about wrestling as I do life, which is aint shite. I do know Savage is a fighter, boxer mostly, which makes sense why he left the states to train in the UK, we know how to throw a punch or two. He did a thing with that didn’t he? He’s always one of those army fella’s, which is all sorts of fun, but it does show he has more balls than brains, but that could probably be said about any boxer or MMA type. He’s been in this wrestling times more than me, all the way back 10 years ago. He’s wracked himself up a nice collection of wrestling and boxing titles. I’m sure his trophy room is incredible, me is just a championship from a company hardly ever heard of and now the World Cup. For all of his accomplishments of violence, I think the UK rubbed off on him a little, he seems to at least have basic respect for people. He’s nae a complete boaby, but it is amusing to see an American trying to claim us over there, you could at least have said Ireland, they have some fine boxing schools. I guess in the end it doesn’t really matter, here we have the guns, there we all just punch each other for fun, at least that’s how I figure the stereotyping goes.

A soft smile and an inaudible laugh comes over Alister for a half a second before he continues. Then there’s th’ muckle numpty, can’t really say someone is almost whole other person bigger than me. He’s a whole 14 stone heavier, I only weight 15 stone and I don’t consider myself a small person. 3 years he’s been with the company, he’s sort of that next level challenge for anyone, pretty much in any division we have. I guess every company needs a monster, keep the locker room in check, someone to send after to punish others, at the very least this hairy bastard is the fee fi fo to my fum. I saw this man hit another grown man with the Ragnarok so hard his eyes popped out his head.

His eyes actually popped out his head? Gross!

She cutting him off mid word, he stalls for a moment. Maybe a little exaggeration, but if it were physically possible, it would of happened. The one thing I am excited about him being in the match is that he has already won it all. Just recently had the CBS championship, he’s a triple crown winner, and the tag titles away from being a Grand Slam champion, for his weight class. Even if its not pinning him, keeping him from winning, while also getting the win, is a great accomplishment to get everyone to take notice. I see Odin as one of those breakthrough talents, in order to get to that level, you need to go through him, and he’s there for a good reason.

Jade Riley looks at her screen for a moment seemingly thrown off.

It almost sounds like you are intimidated by this match.

No, just like last week, I’m excited, there’s no outcome other than me gaining. I win the match; I experience what it will take to be a champion in this company. I continue my momentum onward to a championship match of my own, and so forth. If I’m not involved in the pin, or even I am, it’s because I out right lost. Not for a lack of fighting, just my best wouldn’t be enough. That is also ok, because ever fight you are part of is a growing moment. One of the few things I do know in this world, you will never achieve anything great if you’re not constantly pushing yourself. I’m not going to turn down a match, an opportunity, regardless who it’s with. I try to be ready as much as I can, I’m also human, and sometimes you have to learn the hard lessons.

When I was a kid, I was always told of how Pictland was weakened thanks to Norse attacks, or more socially known as Viking Raids. In 843 Kenneth MacAplin was able to fight off the Nordic attackers, and in doing so united Pictland to become the first King of the Scots. The namesake for my finisher in case anyone was wondering. I guess it is sort of fitting, going into arguably my toughest match of my career, against someone named Odin, and someone who’s name is Savage. See, us Scots only have the 2 F’s, we Fight and we Farm, we really don’t do much else, maybe sheer some sheep. Just like those before, it doesn’t matter how big of a fight stands in front of us, we find a way. This of course isn’t war, but like battles, there will always be another fight tomorrow. You of course can’t win a war if you’re losing all the battles, so I have to rely on what I’ve built. My biggest advantage with these two is how unique my style. I’m not quite a MMA fighter, and I’m too small to be a powerhouse, but I have used my speed to set up devastating moves to take and keep advantages.

Wow, that is really an amazing story, we’re almost out of time, is there anything else you would like to say to your opponents, or the AW Universe?

He pauses for a moment and looks off the side of the screen, choosing his next words wisely.

There is a lot of things that could go wrong this week, big reward on the line, and I know they are taking it just as serious as I am, lucky for me I’ve had just enough experience in wrestling, that I know how important this match is to my career, and I’m not taking that lightly, and expect this to be a show stealer.

That it will be, good luck this week Alister, and thank you for taking the time to talk with me. This has been Jade Riley with Action Wrestling dot com.

The zoom ends and Alister sits looking at his desktop background, he slowly looks over at the World Cup.



A couple of days later, Alister stands on the corner of Roosevelt and 3rd looking around the downtown of Phoenix, this being the first time being in this city, he feels it’s important to take things in. The typical sunny day of Arizona shines brightly on his Broly Anime shirt, something that could loosely be considered nerdy fashion forward. Through his sunglasses he looks in almost every direction, already having the vibe that he is from out of town. Looking at the camera he begins walking down the street.

You know growing up I heard a lot of tales of great men, but one of the greatest tales of someone I can relate to in this moment is Rocky. I know, just a movie created by Hollywood, but the story still has meaning. The underdog, the one that is pretty good, maybe even great but looking at them, you wouldn’t think that they could still accomplish great things with the people who currently stand in the way and hold championships. We may not be in Philly, and this is Arizona, but I feel this week the spirit of Rocky is going to be here. This industry is more than just being big and strong, being a violent striker, all those things are great and wonderful, all pillars of being the greatest. Without the heart and the willingness to go through everything and anything all you have are just those things.

Alister looks around at the street signs and pauses for traffic before continuing on. Me, I love a good fight, always have, hate hurting people though. Like Batman, I do anything and everything, but just, to win. That said, I don’t know how it’s going to go. I don’t know if I will win, can’t really say I’m going to lose. But I think that’s what sets me apart from the other two, I’m just different. You won’t catch me running around trying to convince people that I’m tough or dangerous, no one is going to come out trying to cancel me because I was trying to intimidate anyone. Not only have I seen a lot of people in the short time I’ve been around absolute suck at everything doing that; but also, in the fact I only try to impress myself. Oh shit, Ice Cream!
Beat

Alister continues with a half-eaten Ice Cream cone. I don’t turn down a fight, doesn’t matter what’s on the line, in my mind everything is always on the line. See even now I’m running a risk of a fight with diabetes. I know being so knew to AW taking a match with these two must look crazy, and sure that’s a very good possibility. Even the very real fact that the odds are literally against me, how great would it be if I could find a way to pull the dub out? You see last night I had me a dream, and in it I was living the life as the champion of the Americas, and it was wonderful. Of course, while awake dreams are just that, but while awake they are motivations. Jimmy, ye ever bin motivated afore? Nothing like being motivated. I’m seeing that motivation could very well be part of the key to finding the answer to these two fuckers. The one thing I do know for sure, is that this match is going to be amazing, its going to be like the Matrix in that arena, could even end up being match of the year. You ever see a match where someone has a quick offense, deadly striking, and a powerhouse in the match to get their hands on a champ? This is something you’d expect to see in Japan, but good old Phoenix gets it, so we are going to party like it is.

He finally finishes his ice cream as he approaches a city garbage can. He whips his face with a napkin to keep from having any embarrassing moment proceeding. Once finished he looks back and forth at the street signs and lanes, before continuing.

I’ve been thinking, someone let me know if this is a bad idea. Been kicking around the thought of Odin being covered in glitter; how mad he would be. You think he would lose his shit from seeing himself covered in it during a match? I’m thinking about getting oiled up for this match, but use glitter oil. I’ve been dying laughing at the thought all morning, I think it would be an amazing souvenir from the match, regardless of the outcome. I think I’m going to do it, but why wait, lets pazzazz this thing up now!

He reaches into his pocket and throws a handful of dry glitter at the camera. It explodes on impact creating a colourful visual representation of a missel attack, minus the damage. As the glitter slowly settles to the ground and surrounding objects, a few people who were initially frightened by the sudden act begins to laugh. That too would be short lived as Alister begins to TikTok dance, as a flash mob slowly begins to join him. For the next 35 seconds they accurately perform the choreography almost flawlessly.



Alister looks down at his phone as his video comes to an end. These things are starting to get out of hand. Tonight, I have other things to focus on, tonight the entire worlds see’s if how good Alister McKissick really is. This is the moment that he will find out if he is Yamcha or Gohan, because he’s modest as fuck. God, I hope I’m not fucking Yamcha, that guy shows up to take a nap. Hopefully tonight I stop narrating my own life. Time to make my World Cup trophy proud, all my dad asks is “have you beaten Angelo yet?”

He lets out a sigh and heads into the Footprint Center to find what destiny has for him.